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Calm on Syrian border deceptive, temporary -- Israeli Army

GAZA, Feb 10 (KUNA) -- The Israeli Army has warned current general calm along the borders with Syria "is deceptive" and internal escalating violence in the neighboring country might eventually spill over to the region and threaten Israel's security This calmness might rapidly change, due to the current civil war the country is witnessing, while it has always been tranquil during Bashar Al-Assad's ruling, the Yediot Ahronot daily quoted military sources as saying on Sunday.
The sources indicated that despite (the Israeli) air strike on a Syrian Army convoy on Syrian territories some 10 ago, which foreign media sources affirmed was carried out by the Israeli Air Force, the Israel-Syria border is actually the quietest among the Jewish state's borders. But IDF (Israel Defence Forces) officers fear that may soon change, Yediot Ahronot quoted the same sources as saying.
The border stretches some 80 kilometers from Mount Hermon in the north to the border junction with Jordan in the south.
The frontier lush region was recently disturbed by echoes of the bloody civil war ripping through Syria, and while the sounds of war have somewhat "faded in the area," the IDF knows that the calm will not last for much longer, the newspaper said.
"Growing unrest in Damascus and President Bashar Assad's continuous attempts to blame the West in general and Israel in particular for the violence plaguing the country, has translated into growing agitation; and the volatile climate means one thing - a terror attack against Israeli targets in the area is only a matter of time," the daily added.
The immediate area adjacent to the Syrian side of the border is home to villages that have become "brimming with terror activity over the past two years," it said.
Assad's loose grip on the area has made it safe for terror operatives to seek refuge there; and thousands of them from Islamic and Jihad-affiliated groups are believed to be on the ground, it said. (end) mzt.lb KUNA 101310 Feb 13NNNN